Lofty dreamin’

The space is big – wide open, in fact. The walls are covered in sketches and clippings and inspirational relics are strewn everywhere. You prop a larger than life canvas up against the wall, throw paint at it all day, and then come evening, you frantically type your novel on your old Smith Corona, enveloped in writer haze and whorls of cigarette smoke. Your old whiskey bottles have become candleholders. This city has become your muse…

"Hello? Are you ok?"

You snap out of your reverie. The real-estate agent looks at you quizzically.

"Uh.. yeah…" You look at the walls. No sketches. No canvas. Not yet... "I'll take it!" you declare.

The real-estate agent looks at you. "But we just--"

"This space speaks to me" you interrupt.

"Yes, well, that may be because the soundproofing isn't--"

…."I BELONG HERE!"

These days, lofts do some crazy things to people. Originally, people lived in them because they were cheap and functional. And yes, they attracted many artist types who needed an open-concept space to practice choreographies, paint, or simply fit their huge egos. But all notions of instant artsiness handed to you like a welcome basket at the door aside, who on earth knows what a "loft" actually is?

I'm going to give it to you straight---there are hard lofts and there are soft lofts.

Huh?

So a hard loft is, by definition, a genuine loft. These residences are found in erstwhile industrial or commercial buildings that have long since been abandoned or sold and subsequently converted into residences. Because of this past life, the lofts have high ceilings, big windows, and are not partitioned into rooms. They're usually between 1,000-2,000 sq.ft. Some have an upper open loft area, like a loft within a loft, that doubles as a bedroom, but this is not required for a loft to be called a loft. Hard lofts can be either rentals or condos, so the condominium variety is usually called a "loft condo".

Perks of hard lofts include loft parties that everyone loves until they become cop parties due to the really bad soundproofing. The old buildings can't support all the extra weight of concrete partitioning, so you get to hear the singer-songwriter next door practice all their new songs. These residences are definitely not cookie-cutter. Like you and all your artistic feelings, they're unique!

So where are these "hard lofts" hiding away in our ever-changing and crowded cityscape? Think of the former Red Path Sugar Refinery on the Lachine Canal, just west of the Atwater Market. The refinery itself opened in 1854, and was renovated into lofts 2005. The majority of lofts can be found in places that used to be industrial, like Verdun, St Henri, HOMA and Old Montreal.

Then, there are "soft lofts". These do not come with compulsory artsy angst and alcoholism, which is definitely a perk. Soft lofts are what you're getting when you're looking at real estate listings and you see "loft-style condo" or  "loft-seeming", "loft-feeling", or "wherefore-art-thou-new-loft". These are not to be confused with listings for hay lofts (farmer chic?) or choir lofts (my life as a musical) or organ lofts (ewww), which are legit lofts used for other purposes.

Soft lofts are in new buildings, and are basically brand-new condos built to embody the opened-up feeling of hard lofts, although they might be partitioned. A little. They will often have exposed concrete columns, exposed brick, and "industrial" touches to connect you further to the former factory standard of all things loft. And yes, the soundproofing is better. Where are they? Everywhere.

Remember: lofts do some crazy things to people. They're what I call persuasive spaces. We've got a collective cultural romantic idea about lofts and the artistic genius that they impart to all their dwellers, and this makes people want them. But this is backwards. To the "What came first, the artist or the loft?" question, there can only be one answer. The artist. So if you see a loft and your heart gets all a-flutter thinking about the burgeoning Byron inside you just waiting to take flight, go home and scribble out a poem or two, and send them to me for evaluation before you do anything rash.